ISRO Misfired by Thomas K. V.;

Author:Thomas, K. V.; [Thomas, K.V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications India Pvt, Ltd.
Published: 2019-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

CAUGHT BY THE

RED HANDS

OF JUDICIARY

11

Once the CBI had taken over the investigation of the case on 3 December 1994, the venue of the ISRO spy story was shifted to central Kerala when the different stakeholders of the case knocked at the doors of judiciary with their exaggerated claims and counterclaims. My colleague there had a hectic time liaising and briefing the new team of investigators including the CBI sleuths to toe the line of espionage already built up by various agencies. Very often, his ego prompted him to share the great things that he had been engaged in for the senior bosses.

The sole three-star hotel in the city cut off from the mainland and located at the island named after Lord Wellington was the main rendezvous of senior officers and personnel. There was no dearth of funds or resources to meet all these expenses. After all, it was the life and death struggle of the great Bengali Dada of the Bureau in New Delhi to demolish the first major spy network in South India so that his pending application with higher echelons, for the change of date of birth in service records, would be favourably settled before his impending superannuation!

Our liaison man was apparently unhappy with the approach of the CBI officer in charge of investigation, who was not ready to swallow all what the initial investigators/agencies had fed to him. Thus, signals to this effect had gone to the senior bosses who arranged a high level meeting at the state capital in which the head of the SIT of the Kerala Police, in the presence of other senior bosses, presented a fascinating story of espionage, which too was not taken seriously by the CBI officer. Then the move was to dislodge him from that assignment. Thanks to the then director of CBI, who had successfully countered such moves. Perhaps, his uncompromising approach invited unsavoury references even from the seats of justice!

As legal battles connected with the ISRO espionage case were in the offing, the centre of attraction was the visiting legal luminaries from New Delhi and elsewhere. Many among them were keen to enjoy the scenic beauty of the state and other facilities; a reputed legal expert from the capital was keener to leisurely spending hours on the sprawling lawns of the hotel facing the backwaters, sipping different brands of foreign liquor. In such a euphoric mood, sometimes, he batted both for the batting and bowling teams!

While the CBI investigators showed reservations to endorse the espionage line obviously due to lack of any specific evidence as attributed by the initial investigators and agencies, a set of political leaders and police officers from behind the curtain used the legal fraternity to steer off the case in pursuance of their ulterior motives. It was at a time when the image building exercise in Congress-led ruling alliance in the state was gaining momentum and the clamour for the removal of the leader had reached high pitch and echoed at the corridors of power in New Delhi.

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